Step 9 Prioritise sleep to lose weight

Most people need at least seven to eight hours a night — any less and you’re likely to feel hungry and crave high-carb, high-calorie foods. To get a good night’s sleep, it’s important to go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on the weekend.

Points to bear in mind:

• More sleep gives you more energy so you will wake refreshed and ready to go!
• More sleep means you burn more calories as they burn off while you asleep
• More sleep equals less late nights and less opportunities to vere off the straight and narrow and give in to binging on crackers and cheese or late night nacho dips
• Longer sleep means you rise hungry so make sure you eat well. I believe breakfast is the most important meal of the day. 
• Eat a good breakfast and carry some sliced fruit for elevene's and then your main meal at lunch time so you have the opportunity to burn off the calories before something more moderate for tea.

Given the times we are living through I have often found it very difficult to go to sleep, especially if its before ten-thirty at night. 

If you have problems sleeping try one or more of the following:

• Do not drink or eat anything after 9:00 pm and visit the toilet before taking to bed, even if you don't need a visit. I call it a "Safety Pee" and its cuts out the urge to go at 3 or 4 in the night.
• Radio or Phone - If you like me find drifting off to sleep hard then turn on the radio and set the volume level so low that you have to concentrate to hear it. Set so low it means you can drift off and not be disturbed by it later in the night. 
• Talk Stations or Podcast - I need to listen to humans talking when I lie in bed at night so I tune to a talk station. It almost guaranteed that I won't be awoken at 4 am by loud music and sometimes I often learn from the conversations that are emitting from the radio. I heard a great discussion on private health insurance one night recently and rather than forget the details and switched on my phone and left a voice message with the information. Next morning I went to the website mentioned and compared policies as my renewal is happening soon. 
• Open a window, in a chillier room you will snuggle deep under the sheets and duvet and be less inclined to sit up in bed reading or on the phone
• Leave the mobile phone behind when heading to bed or at least switch off the wi-fi and mobile data or switch off the sound.

Keep safe and I hope these tips are useful to you.

Do let me know if you have any I can use.